My dream is to have an install of xampp on OSX as the main OS & hosting server and have Parallels connecting virtual machine with xampp installed on each machine referencing the osx resources to test the different versions of internet exploder (ie6, ie7, ie8)

I've struggled with this before, but I don't remember precizly how I fixed it with Parallels.

One thing that is sure: in the browser application in Parallels (for example IE) you need to enter the address of your Mac. This can be the IP address, but it can also be the local network name. 'localhost' or '127.0.0.1' won't work in the guest OS, because then you are pointing to the localhost of the guest OS and not of the host OS.

To lookup local network name:1. Open System Preferences.2. Go to 'Sharing' (inside the Internet & Network panel).3. Above there is a possibility to enter a computer name. Below it you can see the local network name:

To lookup IP-address:1. Open System Preferences.2. Go to 'Network' (inside the Internet & Network panel).3. If you have configured anything here, you should be able to see your IP address.

You can now either use the local network name or the IP address. I'm not 100% sure if both will work, because I remember I've had some troubles with it.

If you don't have an IP address (for example, because you are not connected to the internet) and the local network name doesn't work, you can temporary setup a local network yourself, using AirPort. First make sure you have an AirPort icon your menu bar. You can activate the AirPort menu, by going to System Preferences -> Network, click on 'Airport' and turn on 'Show AirPort status in menu bar'.Now select from the AirPort menu (click on the AirPort icon in the menu bar) 'Create Network...'. Give the network a name and a password. You will have an IP address now and with it you can try it in Parallels.

If all doesn't work, you should try different network connection settings in Parallels. I remember it didn't work with all of them, but I do not remember with which ones they worked.